Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1041428
P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> T H E 2 0 1 8 S E A S O N eyes have landed 16 five-star and 103 four-star prospects in that span, and despite a controversy-plagued off- season that led to calls for Meyer's dismissal in August, their 2019 class was 18th in the Rivals rankings as of mid-October and is all but assured of moving up. They've got a good thing going. Franklin arrived in the Big Ten two years after Meyer, taking on a recon- struction project that was massively more difficult than the one his Ohio State counterpart inherited following the memorabilia-for-tattoos scandal that cost Tressel his job. Of the five classes Franklin has signed so far, one has received a top-five rating. Three of his recruits have received five stars, and 49 have received four. Penn State's bid to join the national elite will of course depend on a com- bination of elements, from recruiting to player development to game day operation. But one element that is al- ready in place is Franklin's message to those who would choose to join him: We are going to find a way. Losses like the ones that Penn State has suffered this year invite skepti- cism, especially losses such as the one to Michigan State. That was a game the Nittany Lions had in their hands in the most literal way possible and still came up short. A highly engaged fan base isn't going to take that sort of thing well. But what really matters is how those families in the recruiting lounge feel, and Franklin is determined to keep them feeling positive. As he said after the Ohio State game, "We are going to learn from this and grow from this, and we are going to find a way to take that next step as a program, because we've been knocking at the door long enough. It's my job as the head coach, I'm ultimately responsible for all of it. I will find a way, we will find a way, and with all the support of everybody in this community and everybody on this campus and the lettermen and everybody else, we are going to get this done." ■ LT Ryan Bates Will Fries Alex Gellerstedt LG Steven Gonzalez Mike Miranda Bryce E8ner C Michal Menet Zach Simpson Juice Scruggs RG Connor McGovern Des Holmes Charlie Shuman RT Will Fries Chasz Wright Alex Gellerstedt QB Trace McSorley Tommy Stevens Sean Cli8ord RB Miles Sanders Ricky Slade Journey Brown Johnathan Thomas WR K.J. Hamler Mac Hippenhammer Jahan Dotson WR Juwan Johnson Cam Sullivan-Brown Daniel George WR DeAndre Thompkins Isaac Lutz Brandon Polk TE Pat Freiermuth Nick Bowers Jonathan Holland Danny Dalton DEFENSE DE Shareef Miller Shaka Toney Daniel Joseph DT Kevin Givens Ellison Jordan P.J. Mustipher DT Robert Windsor Fred Hansard** C.J. Thorpe DE Yetur Gross-Matos Shane Simmons Nick Tarburton OLB Cam Brown Jarvis Miller Dae'Lun Darien MLB Jan Johnson Ellis Brooks Jesse Luketa OLB Koa Farmer Micah Parsons Jake Cooper CB John Reid Zech McPhearson Tariq Castro-Fields FS Nick Scott Ayron Monroe Jonathan Sutherland SS Garrett Taylor Lamont Wade Jonathan Sutherland CB Amani Oruwariye Donovan Johnson Zech McPhearson P Blake Gillikin Cade Pollard Vlad Hilling K (FG) Jake Pinegar Justin Tobin Vlad Hilling K (KO) Rafael Checa Jake Pinegar Vlad Hilling H Blake Gillikin Michael Shuster Jan Johnson LS Kyle Vasey Chris Stoll Joe Calcagno PR DeAndre Thompkins K.J. Hamler John Reid KR K.J. Hamler Journey Brown Ricky Slade * As of mid-October | ** Injured against Michigan State; availability for upcoming games was unknown at press time P E N N S T A T E D E P T H C H A R T * O F F E N S E D E F E N S E S P E C I A L T E A M S OR OR OR OR OR